No Sooner Looked But They Loved
by Kohaku Kawa
Summary: A collection of Winlet oneshots. Some of them are ot3 fics with Scarlet/Winter/Jacin.
1. Hallway Conversation

**I wanted to write a Winlet one shot and my gf gave me the idea of doing a college AU. Let me know what you think!**

She was there again. The girl with the flaming red curls and beautiful brown skin and a laugh that made Winter's heart trip every time she heard it in the hall. Winter had tried to figure out which class the girl had that brought her to the music building. It was hard though, since she always had to run from voice lessons straight to trig. She had tried running back after math was over ad waiting for her to come out of one of the classrooms, but her class must have been shorter because she was never around. She never seemed to go into any of the classrooms either. Winter had come early a few times trying to catch the redhead before class, but she always showed up 10 minutes after voice class started.

Winter saw her almost every day that she had voice lessons. The girl would sit on the bench across from the open classroom door and read or doodle. Sometimes she talked to this lanky grad student with messy brown hair that Winter disliked for no good reason.

Winter packed up her backpack hurriedly as soon as the teacher called the end of class. It was almost the end of the semester and she was determined to talk to this girl, trigonometry be damned.

As Winter rushed out of the classroom the girl was swinging her own backpack onto her shoulders. She started to walk off down the hall but Winter sprinted a couple steps and caught up with her.

"Hey." Winter said.

The girl paused and when she saw it was Winter who had stopped her she smiled so big that Winter wondered if she was supposed to know her from somewhere.

"Hey," Winter repeated, "I see you outside class all the time. What's your name?"

"Scarlet, what's yours?" The girl said, hints of a French accent lilting in her words.

"I'm Winter." Winter said and tried to find something else to say. What class do you have now?"

"Oh, I don't have class right now." Scarlet said with a grin like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, but didn't mind at all.

Winter tilted her head. "But you're almost always here at the same time."

Scarlet pressed her lips together. "Well, can you keep a secret?"

Winter drew her eyebrows together. What secret reason could someone have for hanging out in the music building? She said yes anyways and the girl leaned in close.

"I just come here to listen to you sing." She whispered.

Winter was frozen with surprise.

Scarlet took a step back, her warm brown eyes were bright as she watched Winter's expression.

Winter blinked a couple of times. She felt a blush and wondered if Scarlet would notice it against her ebony black skin. "Why?" Was all she could think of saying.

"You have a wonderful voice! I'm surprised I don't have to compete for a seat, honestly." Scarlet said. "I brought my friend some coffee the first week of class and I heard you and I couldn't walk away."

"That grad student?" Winter asked, still blushing. "You're just friends?"

There must have been something in her voice when she mentioned the guy because Scarlet laughed when she said, "Yes _that_ grad student and yes we're just friends."

Winter shifted on her feet, trying to find somewhere else to look.

Scarlet bit her lip, seeming to regret laughing. "Say, do _you_ like coffee?"

Winter hated coffee, but she immediately said, "yes, I love it!"

"We should go get some." Scarlet said and for the first time looked a little vulnerable herself. "If you'd want to. I'd really like to get to know you."

"Me too. We should definitely go." Winter said. Maybe a little too quickly she thought, but then life was short so she added, "I'm free now actually."

Scarlet smiled her bright, full grin again. "I am too and now sounds great."

Winter smiled as they started walking through the crowded hallway again, this time together.


	2. Family

**Set like 7-10 years after the war/rebellion. Winter is the Queen of Luna. Scarlet and Jacin are both in a relationship with Winter. Jacin and Winter have a daughter that Scarlet helps raise. I headcanon Scarlet as black. I think that's everything you need to know.**

Scarlet and Winter were enjoying some rare relaxation time reading together in one of the sitting rooms in the Lunar palace, Scarlet leaning against Winter on a chaise lounge while Winter played with her curls. Scarlet had forgotten her own book and was tracing patterns against Winter's arm. She liked the contrast of her own deep brown fingers against Winter's darker ebony skin.

The door opened and their daughter came running toward them, her tutor giving a small wave before heading home for the day. Scarlet beamed and sat up to catch the toddler in a big hug. She couldn't believe that the little girl would be five soon! Her skin was close to Scarlet's brown but with Winter and Jacin's cooler undertones and her hair was a cloud of brown and honey curls framing her face.

Winter wrapped their little one in a hug next. "Hi sweetie." She said, "Did you have fun today?"

Just like she usually did, their daughter started immediately with a question. "maman, mommy, is Jacin _really_ my dad?"

Scarlet hadn't been ready for that one though. She blinked and looked at Winter. The Queen's eyes were also big, but she was trying not to laugh.

"Of course he is! Why do you ask that?" Winter asked, the laugh coming through in her voice anyway.

"Well..." The girl fidgeted. "One of the other kids today said I couldn't have three parents because kids only have two parents."

"Oh!" Winter said and Scarlet froze. Winter glanced at her and then back. "Why do you think Jacin wouldn't be your daddy?"

"Because he's not brown like we are." Their daughter said matter of factly.

Scarlet and Winter both held back laughs this time. "Well he is your dad." Winter said.

The little girl frowned. "Then one of you isn't my mom?"

Winter picked her up and hugged her. "We're both your moms, baby! Some kids only have one parent, some have two, and you have three." She smiled.

The girl kept frowning though. "I don't know any other kids with three parents." She looked from Scarlet to Winter, her eyebrows tight together.

Scarlet sighed. Winter shook her head slightly at her but Scarlet knew that if they put off explaining things longer their daughter would just feel lied to. With a grim smile and raised eyebrows she managed to convey this to Winter without words –or at least that she thought it was time to explain thing –and the Queen finally nodded once.

"Do you remember," Scarlet asked, "when we read you the book about where babies come from?"

"No." Said their girl, swinging her legs in Winter's lap.

"I think you do." Said Winter, smiling gently and giving the toddler a little tickle. The girl laughed and Scarlet thought she looked like an angel with her bright golden eyes.

"Maybe... with the baby in the mommy's belly?" The girl asked.

"Mmhmm." Said Winter.

The little girl made an 'oh!' sound and she looked from Scarlet to Winter. "Who's belly was I in?"

Scarlet didn't say anything, so Winter spoke gently. "Mine sweetie. Daddy and I made you and you grew inside me."

The girl thought about this and then looked at Scarlet. "What about Maman?" She asked.

Scarlet moved so that she was right next to Winter and stroked their daughter's cheek. "Well, I love Mommy and Mommy loves me, so when she had you I loved you like you were my own baby." She said. Stars, she hadn't imagined it would be this hard.

The girl drew her eyebrows together and said, "But you're not really my Maman."

Scarlet's heart broke and she pressed her lips together tightly. Winter quickly put her arm around Scarlet's shoulders, holding her.

"Of course she's your Maman!" Winter said. "She loves you and we all love her!"

Scarlet wanted to be anywhere else in the world but she smiled brightly at their -at Winter's daughter. "I love you so much sweetie. I've always wanted to be your Maman."

"But-" the girl started, but Winter shushed her with a kiss on her forehead.

"Daddy and I made you but there's something else very important to who you are. Can you think of what it is?" Winter asked her little one.

The girl concentrated. "My name?" She asked.

"Very good." Winter said gently. "And who are you named after Michelle?"

Scarlet bit her lip. The girl gasped in realization and looked at Scarlet,

"Great Grand-mere Michelle!" She said.

"That's right." Winter said, beaming. "And who's Grand-mere was Michelle?"

"Maman's!" The little girl said, smiling almost shyly at Scarlet. The girl had never been shy a day in her life before, but Scarlet smiled back at her encouraging.

"I named you. Did you know that?" Scarlet asked.

Little Michelle shook her head and Winter told her, "Mommy and Daddy cared so much about Maman that we wanted her to name you and Maman loved you so much from the moment she saw you that she named you after her Grand-mere. Because we're all one family." Winter squeezed Scarlet's shoulders tighter as she finished.

Their daughter moved into Scarlet's lap as Scarlet wiped tears out of her own eyes. "Why are you crying Maman?" Little Michelle asked.

"Because I'm really happy to be your Maman sweetie." Scarlet said.

Michelle stood on Scarlet's legs and kissed her cheek. "I'm happy too." She said.

. . . . . .

Winter had tried to cancel her meetings for the rest of the day but there was an important one with the European Union right at Michelle's bedtime that she couldn't miss.

Jacin got back right on time though and scooped Michelle up into a big hug as soon as he was in the door. "Hey there trouble-maker!" He laughed. "What did you learn today?"

"I learned that babies are made from a Mommy and a Daddy." She said.

Jacin stopped smiling and looked to Scarlet who smiled sadly and shrugged. He held little Michelle up so he could see her face. "Oh?" He said.

"Mhmm, and I learned that you and Mommy made me and that Maman named me after her Grand-mere because we're all a family." Michelle said giggling.

"That's right." Said Jacin. He put Michelle down and patted her head. "What did Great Grand-mere Michelle do again?"

Little Michelle took in a deep breath. "She flew planes and she came to Luna and helped plan for peace and she helped Auntie Cinder stay safe when she was little and... she had a farm with animals and everything!" She said in one quick go.

Jacin laughed. "She sure did a lot huh? You're named after a very important woman!"

Michelle nodded seriously and Scarlet smiled a big, real smile for the first time since that afternoon. "You're going to do just as many things as she did." Scarlet told her. "But right now I think it's time for bed!"

Michelle stuck out her lip, but then grinned. "Stories first! I want you both to read to me!"

"Maybe Jacin can handle it tonight." Scarlet said pushing Michelle's curls back behind her ears. All Scarlet wanted to do was crawl into bed and collapse.

"Oh, but Scarlet," Jacin said, "You have to at least do the rabbit's voice. You do it so much better than I can." Jacin gave her his hand and helped her stand up. "I'll do all the rest." He added and squeezed her hand before letting go.

Scarlet gave him a half smile and then turned to Michelle. "Oh very well." Scarlet said and Michelle squealed in excitement and ran into her room.

Jacin and Scarlet curled up around Michelle in her bed that was just big enough for all of them. Jacin held the book about the silly bird and rabbit that they had read every night for the past month. He read all of the parts except when the rabbit spoke and Scarlet chimed in. They read it twice before Michelle fell asleep.

Scarlet watched her sleeping and felt like crying again. She knew she shouldn't be worried, but it was hard to believe that her whole world wasn't about to change. Jacin saw the start of her tears from across the bed and reached over to wipe them away gently.

"Hey," He said softly, "are you okay?"

Scarlet nodded but then shook her head. "She's not going to need me." Scarlet whispered to him. "She has you two already, what does she need an extra parent for."

Jacin sighed and whispered back. "It's not about the numbers Scarlet. Cinder had one really awful parent and she turned out great, Thorne had two and look at him. He's okay I guess, but I don't want Michelle growing up to be like him."

Scarlet stifled a laugh.

Jacin smiled. "Our girl has three parents and we're all going to do everything we can for her."

Scarlet nodded and managed a smile. They climbed carefully out of Michelle's bed without waking her.

"I'm going to stay and watch her for a bit." Scarlet said softly.

"Alright," Jacin said, "I'm here if you need to talk okay?"

Scarlet nodded and he turned to walk away. "Jace?" She said to stop him and he turned.

"Yeah?" He asked, one eyebrow raised.

"I love you." She said.

Jacin blinked and then smiled. They'd said I love you to each other in front of Michelle when she asked them to before, but this was the first time she'd said it just to him. Just to let him know how much he meant to her.

"I love you too, Scar." Jacin said warmly.

Jacin turned down the light as he left and Scarlet tucked herself into the rocking chair next to Michelle's bed. She thought that Jacin was probably right about the parenting. Either way she was never going to stop loving Michelle and helping her achieve all of her dreams.

 **please leave me a review and let me know what you think!**


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